Quietly
by 14karatgold
Summary: Garnet’s third heir isn’t like her older siblings. She’s not serious, she’s not regal, she deosn't even look like them, and yet the town loves her more. She reminds them of the woman Garnet used to be. Read ‘In the Night’ to understand.
1. Prologue: Indoctrinated by Death

**Quietly**

Summary- Garnet's third heir isn't like her older siblings. She's not serious, she's not regal, she deosn't even look like them, and yet the town loves her more. She reminds them of the woman Garnet used to be. Read 'In the Night' to understand.

ZidaneDagger, told through the eyes of Freya Neikole (Neika) til Alexandros as she deals with her own problems on the side.

Rated T. Romance/Drama.

Disclaimer- Squaresoft owns all related subjects.

A/N- I'm writing this to respond to the reviews for In the Night. They asked for a continuation, so I wrote a sequel instead. I hope to please all. Thank you.

Prologue- Indoctrinated by Death

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Freya Neikole til Alexandros stood before the grave of her father, long after her mother, brother, sister, and attendants moved away, allowing a single tear of remorse roll down her cheek. He hadn't deserved his death. He was a good king, and a good father.

But he had never loved her.

He had tried, it was true, but Neikole could tell from the expression in his eyes as he looked at her that something wasn't right about her. Neika just assumed that because she was the third child, she wasn't as important as her brother, Alexander, and her sister, Vivian. Both of them were made to rule. You could tell, just by the way they held themselves and the haughty looks on their trained faces. They never went into the city, or even spoke to their subjects. They thought it was beneath them, so their mother did it instead, almost always accompanied by their youngest sister.

Alexandria loved Neika, and though her looks were not the same, she reminded them endlessly of the woman Garnet used to be, and told her so. She wished they wouldn't. It made her feel awkward, especially whenever she had to be with her mother.

"So how were the people in town today?" she would ask.

And just like a child being asked how her school day went, Neika would mumble a, "Fine," and then change the subject.

Her mother was a kind woman, and a good queen, but she was distant, as though she had impossible expectations of her life that never seemed to add up. Whenever Neika would ask, her mother would get this wistful look on her face, put on a misty smile, and stroke the girl's hair, never saying a word in response.

"We should go," said Neikole's moogle friend, Asciua, tugging on her hand, bringing the girl back to the reality where her father was lying in a tomb under the large headstone she had been staring at for what seemed like hours. "We should go," Asciua repeated, tugging harder.

"Did he ever love me, Asci?" Neika asked her friend, trying to find some closure in this.

The moogle seemed weigh her words carefully before responding. "Honestly, kupo, I don't think he did. He was too absorbed in his greed for the throne, and his dreams for Prince Alexander and Princess Vivian, kupo."

Neika's eyes flashed away from the tombstone to glare at the moogle. "My father was a good man. He had no greed. He was selfless."

"Then why do you ask me if he loved you, kupo? Surely you would know," Asci retorted calmly. She had heard this line many times.

"I don't know why," Neika said through a tightening throat, as though it had been the stupidest question to ask. "I know he loved me." With that, she kissed the headstone, placed her flowers at its base, and moved away.

Watching her glide away, dark brown sheet of hair flying behind her in the wind, Asciua muttered, "You act mature for your ten years, Freya Neikole, until you start saying things like that, and knowing full well that they aren't true."

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Just the prologue. I'll have more soon. Thanks for reading!

Oh, and once again, you should read 'In the Night' for this to make a bit more sense. I guess you don't have to, but it's suggested.

Again, thanks!

KT


	2. Chapter I: Separated

Chapter I: Separated 

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After the funeral, Neika wandered into the city, alone. Asciua did not accompany her, nor make any move to. Neika would get over this on her own. She always did. One day, not too far from now, she would jump out of bed and laugh for no other reason than to laugh.

Asciua assumed that when she did this, it was in a futile effort to make her mother smile.

The Queen Garnet rarely smiled these days, but the only time she did, was when Neika laughed. So Neika tried harder.

The Princess took the raft across the moat, catching a brief glance of her sister who stood perfectly straight and regal on the balcony of her room. She almost smiled. Being older, Vivian was supposed to be more mature and thoughtful, but Neika always assumed that Vivian never spoke, because she wasn't sure how.

When they were younger, Neika and Vivian were the best of friends, and always did things together, but they slowly separated with age. Neika began to notice that their father gave her sister more attention, and so did Vivian. Vivian relished it. She never rubbed it in her little sister's face, at first, but as their rift began to widen, so did the differences in their personalities.

Vivian became the Daddy's Girl, and always did as her father instructed. Neika began to wonder whether one of those instructions was to ignore her younger sibling, but she would never know for sure. Even Alexander, whom Neika was never that close to to begin with, became distant and glassy eyed. It extended to a point where neither of them would speak to her, or to anyone at all. Except, of course, the King.

It shocked Neika that her sister didn't look sadder at the passing of their father. Though she was far away, the signs of depression were nowhere to be seen on her: she was standing as tall as normal, hands clasped in front of her, eyes looking straight ahead, heels together. It was as if she were standing at attention, one of many in a military line.

It was this stateliness that made Neika wonder how her mother had once been.

The elderly in the city often told her that Garnet was once naïve, playful, powerful, and yet responsible and sensible. For Neika, it was hard to imagine her mother as such a woman. She had always seen Garnet as dark, depressed, curt, slightly powerless (in the shadow of her husband, and older children), and altogether far too introverted. Neika often wished she could help, but Garnet subtly assured her there was nothing she could do.

Neika walked into the Synthesis Shop with no intentions other than to speak with Leya, the new owner of the shop. Leya's father-in-law had passed away only a month or so before, and her husband was widely believed to be having an affair with a young actress in Lindblum. Leya never really wanted to find out for sure. She often told Neika that it would create more problems than it solved, whether or not the affair was actually taking place. Instead, she carried on her lousy husband's business for him and kept all of the profits for herself.

"Oh, hello, Highness," the modest woman greeted the young princess as Neika entered, dipping a low curtsey in the process. "What may I do for you?"

"Nothing today, Leya, and would you please stop calling me Highness? It makes me feel old like my sister," Neika tossed back to her significantly older friend.

"Surely you're in here for some reason? Otherwise you would be off somewhere else," Leya accused playfully while looking back down at the paperwork she had to finish.

"Normally, that would be so, but today has been a bit of an off day," the princess admitted.

"Yes, how was the funeral for the King, Eidolons bless his soul?"

"It was… a funeral… Not pleasant, not unpleasant, just thoroughly bland and lifeless, if you'll pardon the pun," Neika told her friend with a grimace. She left out the bit about Asciua on purpose. Leya didn't need to know about her moment of weakness.

"Hmm. When's Alexander's coronation then?"

"Well, the Parliament has met already and discussed the matter. They think that my mother should keep the throne as Regent until Alexander is seventeen. It's only a few short years."

"What did Alexander have to say about that?" asked Leya, a knowing smile gracing her slowly aging features.

"Oh, you know Alex. He scowled and calmly said that he was as ready to rule now, as he would be in four years. So trained, so perfectly controlled. I'm just glad it's not me that has to take the throne. If I had to be like him and Viv, I just might lose it." 

"So you've mentioned to me on many occasions, but every time you do, I have to remind you that the people in town would much rather you be our Queen than anyone Prince Alexander would take for his wife, or even Princess Vivian," Leya explained tiredly

"Yes, but I would lead Alexandria to destruction! I have none of the training needed to rule. Alex is much better suited for the job." The young princess seemed so brainwashed in her ideals, that Leya barely knew what to say to that.

"And yet, none of us down here… nevermind," the Synthesist sighed, knowing the princess would explode, or worse yet, tell her mother.

"Go on," Neika urged.

There was a heavy pause. "I've told you that the townsfolk don't approve of the Prince Alexander or the Princess Vivian. We don't have much choice, and rarely speak our opinions, but when we do, we are adamant. Though you are young, we strongly wish to see you on the throne instead of your brother. You say you would lead Alexandria to destruction if you ascended? Well, I say that you are assuring that destruction should you not ascend. You may repeat that to your mother if you wish, but it is the truth," Leya finished.

Neika stood there, mouth gaping like a fish out of water. "Are you suggesting there will be a rebellion?" she gasped.

"That's up to you," Leya replied simply, and slightly angry with her young, mindless friend. When she looked up next, Neika was gone from her shop and racing back towards the moat.

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K, there's another one. Some feedback would be nice.

Thanks!

kt


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